ORG Explains #2: The UK Military in the Arabian Peninsula

UPDATE: This primer was first published in March 2018 and updated in October 2018.

Subject:

This primer explains what presence, relations and obligations the UK military has in the Arabian Peninsula, including the six monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Yemen, as well as the international waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea.

Context:

Fifteen years on from the invasion of Iraq and three years after regional intervention in Yemen began, the UK maintains a significant military presence in all the Gulf States. Control of the trade and oil supply routes around the Persian Gulf and Red Sea is also hugely important in British maritime strategy, justifying a permanent naval presence there. In the current decade, the air war against Islamic State and a desire to boost arms sales, contain Iran and to support the future operation of British aircraft carriers has led to a significant enlargement of the British military footprint in the Arabian Peninsula and Arabian Sea. Given concerns about regional human rights violations and the use of British weapons and British military training and assistance in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, this presence has become increasingly controversial.

Key points:

The UK has informal defence commitments to at least five regional states but no binding defence obligations to them.

The Gulf region has the largest concentration of British military forces outside of the UK, including about 20% of the operational Royal Navy and over 300 personnel embedded with local militaries.

The British military presence is dynamic and has expanded since 2013 to include new naval bases in Bahrain and Oman, use of air bases in Dubai and Kuwait, a desert warfare training centre in Oman, and a planned joint fighter squadron in Qatar.

Exports to the region are critical to UK military aerospace business models and likely to constitute over half of all British arms exports in coming years. Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar are the key markets.

Saudi Arabia’s conflicts with Iran, Yemen and Qatar have been major business opportunities for UK arms suppliers but pose risks of escalation and costly military interventions.

There is obvious tension between what the National Security Capability Review calls the fundamental values of Global Britain - respect for human dignity, human rights, freedom, democracy and equality – and the UK’s growing military presence in the Gulf States and involvement in the Yemen war.

Richard Reeve is the Director of the Sustainable Security Programme at ORG. He was formerly Head of Research at International Alert and worked as a Research Fellow with King’s College London, Chatham House and, as a Country Risk Editor, at Jane’s Information Group.

Latest

As special forces are increasingly used in actions overseas, and face growing questions about accountability and resources, it is time for the UK government to abandon its outdated attitude and allow for the democratic oversight of special forces in Parliament.

Oxford Research Group’s Remote Warfare Programme submitted evidence to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee’s (PACAC) inquiry recently, looking at the British Parliament’s role in authorising the use of military force.

ORG is looking for an expert on climate change and security issues to lead on implementation of a new project on integrating climate change analysis into UK national security planning processes. Expressions of interest are sought by 14 March

Related

Oliver Ramsbotham and Tony Klug, on behalf of Oxford Research Group, were invited to participated in the workshop of the Palestinian Strategy Group, hosted and organised by ORG’s partner Pal-Think for Strategic Studies.

Climate disruption is the human security challenge of our age. With carbon emissions again rising and the world well off course delivering on the commitments it made in Paris three years ago, this briefing looks at this challenge as well as the rising influence of populist nationalism in key countries, including the US and BRIC states.

This primer explains what military presence, relations and obligations the UK has in the “High North” region comprising the Arctic and the adjacent Northeast Atlantic Ocean between Scotland, Iceland, Greenland and Norway.

This briefing updates these earlier analyses and discusses political developments in Europe, the United States and Iran. It examines the risk that markedly rising tensions in the coming months pose a significant risk of an unintended escalation to violent conflict.

This report assesses the costs and benefits to the UK of its defence and security relationship with Saudi Arabia, as well as the extent to which the UK is able to exert leverage and influence over Saudi Arabian foreign policy.

With the rapid erosion of the prohibition on use by states of chemical weapons, and the rise of radical non-state groups seemingly willing to utilise whatever weapons of mass destruction they can obtain, what can the international community do to restrain their use?

Oxford Research Group (ORG) is an independent organisation that has been influential for over 35 years in pioneering new, more strategic approaches to security and peacebuilding. Based in London since 2006, ORG continues to pursue cutting edge research and advocacy in the United Kingdom and abroad while managing innovative peacebuilding projects in several Middle Eastern countries.

The Higaonon, an indigenous tribe in Northern Mindanao in the southern Philippines, have preserved an ancient system of conflict resolution which has enabled them to be a truly peaceful community. However, there is a need to ensure that this knowledge is not lost in the future.

Several diplomatic efforts have been made both domestically and internationally to enhance peaceful unity since the start of the Cyprus Problem. Despite the shortcomings of past efforts, it is still desirable not only to resolve the issue, but also to do so in a timely manner.

Over the past two decades, the United Nations Security Council has responded more strongly to some humanitarian crises than to others. This variation in Security Council action raises the important question of what factors motivate United Nations intervention.